Why Mount Everest is still Growing Taller Today

Did you know that Mount Everest is still growing?

Although it is the Tallest mountain on earth, it still grows taller by 0.5 inch every year, or a rate of 40 Cm every 100 years.

Do you want to know why this mountain is still growing? Let’s ask India and the mainland of Asia.

About some millions of years ago, the now known India used to be an island.

What then happened? History has it that the island broke off from a supercontinent known as Gondwanaland.

After about 50 million years, it moved northward and collided with the continent Asia and created the Himalayas, which is said to have over 50 mountains exceeding 23,600 feet in elevation.

Due to the collision between India and Asia, the Himalaya mountain range was formed, of which Mount Everest is the most notable mountain.

Although this collision happened millions of years ago, it still carries enough force that makes the two land masses to push against each other.

This situation makes this region to be vulnerable to horrible earthquakes.

However, millions of years from now, the mountains would have grown to a height whereby earth’s gravity would take over and restrict their growth.

If earth had no gravity, it’s mountains would grow uncontrollably, even beyond the atmosphere.

Consider Olympus Mons on the surface of Mars.

It holds the record for the second Tallest mountain in the solar system. It is almost 3 times taller than our own Mount Everest.

It is 25,000 Metres tall.

Because the gravity on Mars is 3.711 M/S² , compared to Earth which has a gravity of 9.807 M/S², over millions of years, Olympus Mons has been able to grow almost uncontrollably, compared to Mount Everest.